


Love Thy Neighbor

by Coranam



Category: One Outs - All Media Types
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-07-25
Updated: 2018-08-07
Packaged: 2019-06-16 02:01:31
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 9,922
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15426603
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Coranam/pseuds/Coranam
Summary: Itsuki has a new neighbor, and she has to admit that she's a little interested.





	1. Summer

Takami Itsuki was having a hell of a time concentrating. She absolutely had to finish debugging her code by Monday, but her as of yet unnamed new neighbor was proving to be one hell of a distraction. It was like she did this just to spite her or something. She stood up, giving up on any hope of getting work done, and stood by the window looking out into her neighbor’s backyard with her hands on her hips.

Her new neighbor was outside doing yard work, just as she had done every Saturday since she moved in the past month. As per usual, she was wearing work boots, shorts, and a tank top. That day, it looked like she had added a pair of dirty work gloves into the mix while she went to town on some tough looking weeds with a hoe. It wasn’t like Itsuki could blame her for doing yard work, god knew her previous neighbors hadn’t left the yard in good shape. But the fact that she had to do it wearing what she did, looking like she did, made Itsuki’s productivity levels plummet. Itsuki walked over to the kitchen, still gazing through the window into her neighbor’s backyard, getting a new pitcher of lemonade out of the fridge.

Itsuki leaned on the counter, suddenly feeling a bit creepy for oogling her neighbor. She had a lot to oogle though. Ridiculously long legs, muscular arms, great ass, delicate facial features, what kind of hot-blooded woman would she be if she didn’t notice the physical assets of her neighbor? Her social assets were something completely different, though. When she had first moved in, Itsuki had said hello in passing when she went by her house to go on a jog, but her neighbor hadn’t even bothered to acknowledge her greeting. Since then, they hadn’t really interacted; Itsuki actually hadn’t seen her at all save for weekends when she was working outside.

Itsuki finally tore herself away from her window, determined to stop being some kind of weird voyeur. She set her now empty glass down on the counter and plopped down on the floor in front of her box fan, relishing the breeze cutting through the hot summer air. She loved the neighborhood with its old quirky houses and abundance of trees, but with it came the cons of old homes, such as lackluster air conditioning and poor insulation. She could also do without the narrow brick paved streets, but even those had their own unique charm. After a while, Itsuki determined that she was as cooled down as she was going to get.

Standing up, she glanced outside, somewhat surprised to notice how late it had gotten. It was probably around eight, judging by the pinks and oranges splayed across the now darkening blue sky. Itsuki looked around outside, not too surprised to see that her new neighbor was gone, probably eating dinner or something. Itsuki sighed and turned back to her desk. She had two more days to get her project done, and she’d be damned if she had to ask for an extension. 

The next few days passed uneventfully. She finished and submitted her code to the client and was just waiting to hear back. In the meantime, she was working with a group on integrating a new feature into their system. It was one she had worked with in the past, so she was excited about the possibilities it would bring for her current position. She had been able to keep her mind on her work and off her new neighbor for six days when she found the letter in her mailbox. 

It had been a relatively uneventful Friday, as Itsuki hadn’t had to bring any work home with her. She had planned out a nice relaxing weekend full of sports tv and tinkering with parts she had salvaged from a robotics project she had done in college. She made The Discovery when she was sorting through her mail. In between the usual magazine offers and coupons, Itsuki found a plain white hand-lettered envelope. She didn’t recognize the name of the person it was addressed to, nor did she know the sender. When she looked at the address in the corner, however, she felt a warm burst of realization. It was addressed to her next door neighbor to the right.

Apparently her neighbor’s first name was Tokuchi Toa. It sounded fitting for her. In a fit of curiosity, Itsuki bolted over to her computer, sitting down so fast she had to grab her desk to keep from rolling away. She lived in a very expensive neighborhood, filled with doctors, engineers, and businesspeople. Most of them were known at least somewhat in their fields, so she might as well see if this Tokuchi Toa was the same way. 

About three minutes into her search, Itsuki had found more than what she was looking for. Tokuchi wasn't a doctor, an engineer, or a businesswoman. She was a gambler. A really good one too. As she searched, so found a few articles and forum threads about her. 

She had apparently been gambling illegally as a minor until her 21st birthday, when she began entering foreign poker tournaments. Judging by all the titles she held, she wasn’t bad. That explained why she would be gone so often; she probably had to travel a lot for that kind of thing. Itsuki had to feel a sense of fraternity with her though; they were both women working in predominantly male-dominated settings. It felt kind of nice to have that in common with her at least. 

Itsuki grabbed the envelope and headed outside in the direction of Tokuchi’s house. She might as well bring it over now; she didn't want to earn a reputation as a mail-hoarder after all. When she rang Tokuchi’s doorbell, there was a long pause before she heard anything to indicate she was home. Finally, she heard footsteps coming up to the door. Itsuki suddenly felt a bit flustered. 

It was a Friday night, and Tokuchi had probably had plans or something that she didn't want interrupted and Itsuki probably could have just left the letter in her mailbox. It probably wasn't something that called for a hand-delivery. It was too late for her to change her mind though, as Tokuchi opened the door looking a bit perturbed. 

“Yes?”, Tokuchi asked, relaxing a bit once she recognized her. 

“Hey”, Itsuki said, “I think this was delivered to me on accident”. With that, she held out the letter for Tokuchi to take. 

“Oh, thanks”, Tokuchi said, taking it from her. 

“No problem”, Itsuki said, turning away to go home. 

“By the way”, Itsuki heard Tokuchi say almost playfully from behind her, “You’re not as subtle as you think you are”. With that, Tokuchi shut the door, leaving Itsuki frozen on her stoop. Well goddammit.

Itsuki hustled back to her house, feeling her cheeks start to flush. Subtle. Who says she wasn't subtle? Aside from what all her friends and relatives thought, she was the most subtle person out there. False accusations aside, Tokuchi hadn’t seemed all that mad. If anything, she sounded like she might have been teasing her. That was probably it then; Tokuchi had been making some kind of joke. Maybe that was her way of trying to be nice. Once inside, Itsuki flopped down on the sofa and switched the tv on. There was a baseball game on; none of the teams she cared about were playing, but it would be fun to watch all the same.

When Itsuki woke up Saturday morning, she was pleasantly surprised to find out that the heat wave had passed, leaving the air warm but not hot with the occasional cool breeze. It was overcast, but Itsuki wouldn’t let that stop her from enjoying the change in temperature. She changed into one of the bikinis she saved only for sunning herself at home, as it really didn’t cover enough to be worn in public without embarrassment. It was fine for her own backyard though; she had western style privacy fences on all sides of her yard but the right side, and she honestly wasn’t worried about Tokuchi peeping at her. After that little comment the night before, she would be an absolute hypocrite to do or say anything to her about it.

Itsuki dragged one of her lounge chairs out of the shed and out into her yard under a patch of sky that seemed to have thinner cloud coverage than the rest. Feeling more relaxed already, she opened a new library book, ready to zone out for a while. Unfortunately enough for her, that was not to be. Not five minutes into her book, she heard a sudden sharp crack from her left. Startled, Itsuki just about jumped out of her chair, dropping her book and losing her place in the process. Once she realized where the noise had come from, she spun around in her seat to see what the apparent offender was doing.

“Was that too loud?”, Tokuchi called over. 

“Kind of, yeah”, Itsuki said, trying to keep the animosity out of her voice. 

“Sorry about that”, Tokuchi said, not looking sorry at all. “It looks like your last neighbors took to burying rocks where the garden is supposed to go”. Itsuki caught herself before she told Tokuchi “tough shit” or something like that. She had probably been just as surprised at Itsuki had and-

All of a sudden, Itsuki felt her anger completely dissipate. Tokuchi had apparently not gotten the memo about the cooler weather, as she had chosen to strip her tank top off, leaving her in just a sports bra. Tokuchi apparently noticed her blatant staring, as she grinned over at her in an infuriatingly self satisfied manner before throwing her hoe aside and dropping to her knees, apparently deciding to remove the rocks by hand. Itsuki huffed and turned to pick up her book from where it had fallen. Tokuchi really had no business looking at her like that. 

She laid there for a while, pretending to read her book while she listened to Tokuchi de-rocking the area she apparently wanted for a garden. More power to her for that. Itsuki wasn’t the garden-having type, and her overflowing compost bin was proof of that. After a while, she got bored of starting at the same page, and decided to chance a look over at Tokuchi. She wasn’t disappointed.

Apparently moving rocks was hard labor, as Tokuchi had just about sweated through all her clothes, even with the drop in temperature. Itsuki watched her toss rocks onto the increasingly large pile until she threw her gloves aside and rose up off her knees, only to flop back over into a sitting position. She sat there for a minute, breathing heavily. Itsuki felt something warm rise in her chest; sympathy, most likely. She didn’t know many people around the area who did their own manual labor; most of them hired groundskeepers for that kind of work.

Itsuki decided that she should do something friendly for her neighbor. WIth that in mind, she padded inside and over to her kitchen. She pulled one of her nice glasses with the fish pattern out and filled it with the lemonade she had made the day before. That should be as good a gesture as any. Satisfied with herself, she made her way back outside and over to where Tokuchi was still sitting by the fence, careful not to step on anything with her bare feet.

“Here”, She said, leaning over a bit and extending her arm over the low fence. “It looks like you’ve been working hard”.

Tokuchi glanced up at her, looking a bit dazed for a moment before she apparently got her bearings.

“Thanks”, she said, sitting up and taking the glass.

Itsuki leaned casually up against the fence while Tokuchi drank. She was being a pretty good neighbor. It would be nice to have someone close by she could befriend. With her job being the way it was, she didn’t have a lot of time to go out with old friends or meet new ones. Having someone close by would be nice.

“Thanks for that”, Tokuchi said, handing her the now empty glass. With that, she stood up, practically towering over Itsuki. That wasn’t something Itsuki was used to. She wasn’t exactly short for a grown woman, after all. 

“Back to work it is, then”, Tokuchi said lightly, walking away towards the bucket she kept her tools in, swaying her hips a bit as she walked. Itsuki stood there dumbly for a moment trying to interpret Tokuchi’s demeanor. After a few seconds, she came up with nothing. Still figuring it was a successful mission, Itsuki put the glass of in the kitchen sink, and headed back outside to attempt to get back to her book. Once outside, she noticed that Tokuchi was gone, probably exhausted from hauling so many rocks.

The next week passed by as quickly as the last. Her projects were gaining momentum, and her code had been approved for testing. She was making progress in her company, and that honestly took a lot of weight off her shoulders. She liked her job, but downtime was always appreciated. It would be nice if she could focus on what she usually planned on doing, though.

She couldn’t stop running her interaction with Tokuchi that past week through her mind over and over, trying to interpret it. She had definitely extended the hand of friendship then with the lemonade and all, but she couldn’t help but suspect that there was something more going on. She could admit that Tokuchi was hot, yes. But she had several hot friends she had never thought of making a move on. Therefore it didn’t make too much sense to even consider making a move on her, although she couldn’t fathom why she was thinking about that if she didn’t even want to make a move.

She had a bad habit of overthinking things, and this was most likely a product of that. She was being nice, and her neighbor had been nice in return. They might have the potential for a good friendship, as they were next door neighbors, and they were both women. Who could be friends. Nothing out of the ordinary there.

With her mind made up about her intentions, Itsuki decided to go outside and do some work of her own. The beautiful weather had persisted, so she wouldn’t melt into a puddle of sweat if she spent a little time sprucing up her own yard. That Saturday morning, she ran by the nursery to grab potting soil and some locally grown seasonal flowers that she could put in the window planters that had gone unused since she moved in. After seeing that Tokuchi wasn’t outside yet when she got home, Itsuki decided to wait a bit to do her work. After all, Tokuchi probably knew the best time of day to do yard work after all that time.

After about half an hour, she heard a door slam. Looking out the window, she saw Tokuchi making her way down to the patch of land she had been working on the previous weekend. By the looks of it, she was hauling some plants and dirt along with her. Apparently she was going to be a gardener as well. That was kind of cute.

Itsuki turned off the tv, and headed out to her back porch where she’d left her plants and supplies. Tokuchi nodded at her when she made eye contact, but didn’t react otherwise to her presence. Itsuki brushed it off and set to filling her planters with soil and fertilizer. She would start being more active in keeping up the outside of her house from then on. Maybe she would even buy her own lawnmower and keep up her little patch of backyard instead of using the service the rest of the neighborhood used.

Itsuki quickly nixed that idea though. It wouldn’t make sense for her to do that when her backyard was as small as it was. Granted, it was bigger than usual due to the cost of the neighborhood, but probably not big enough to warrant her own lawn mower. She had to admire Tokuchi though, not too many people did their own yard work in that area.

She worked in silence for a while, enjoying the sounds of the birds singing, the cicadas chirring, and the soft breeze running through the trees. It was pretty peaceful outside. After a while, all the planters in the backyard were full, and Itsuki had to admit that it really made her house look a little cozier. She wiped the thin sheen of sweat off her brow, and went over to where she’d left her lawn chair that past weekend, figuring she’d done enough work to warrant a break. She took the opportunity to watch Tokuchi make progress on her garden.

And make progress Tokuchi had. In the time it took Itsuki to fill four planters, Tokuchi had already completed what looked like the first patch of her garden. She had no idea what she had planted, but the rows of small leafy greens looked promising. Tokuchi had apparently had enough of that, as she was wrestling a new garden hose and sprinkler over to her new garden. Itsuki had to admire her dedication. Whenever she had started outdoor projects in the past, they had usually gone unfinished. She had the sinking feeling that that would be the case again, as she hadn’t thought of the planters on the front, sides, and second floor of her house.

Itsuki heard a sudden clang from her peripheral, breaking her out of her thoughts. Looking over, she saw that Tokuchi had thrown her trowel aside and was sitting down with her arms resting on her knees.

“Giving up already?”, Itsuki called, testing the water.

“I don’t see you working”, Tokuchi called back.

“I did my work”, Itsuki retorted. “I’m just taking a break!”

“Breaks are for cowards and cubicle rats”, Tokuchi relied, perking up a bit.

“Seeing as you aren’t any of those things, get back to work!”, Itsuki called back, unable to stifle a giggle.

“Ehhh, maybe I’ll be a cubicle rat just this once”, Tokuchi said with a groan, flopping onto her back.

Itsuki got up from her seat and went over to lean on the fence. “You don’t have to lie down in the dirt, you know”, she said playfully. “Why don’t you sit down in a real chair?”

“Well look at you in your chair made for kings and your house made of gold”, was Tokuchi’s nonsensical reply.

“You haven’t gotten lawn chairs yet, have you?”, Itsuki asked flatly, cutting any humor from her voice.

“Nope”, Tokuchi responded.

“I have plenty over here”, Itsuki said. “Come on over. I even have some lemonade. A new recipe, too”.

Toa glanced up at her from her position on the ground, then sat up. “I’m covered in dirt now”, she said with a coy smile. “Are you still sure?”

“Yeah”, Itsuki said, turning to walk away. “I can still hose the chair off after you’re done with it”. 

As she walked over to her shed, she heard a soft murmur of laughter from the other side of the fence. Itsuki tried to suppress her blush while she dug for her other chair. After she found it and dragged it back out onto the lawn, she handed it over to Tokuchi, then went inside to grab the pitcher. She had to admit, she had made this with Tokuchi in mind. She was more of a traditional lemonade person herself, but something told her that Tokuchi might enjoy something a little more unconventional.

Itsuki emerged from her house toting the pitcher and two glasses. She set the pitcher down on the grass between the two seats, handing one glass to Tokuchi. She poured a glass, then looked over at Itsuki with a hint of confusion when she saw the maroon color.

“Blackberry lemonade”, Itsuki said in response to her look. “Thought I’d try something new”.

Toa nodded, then took a sip. Itsuki had to restrain herself from staring at her while she did. She hoped it turned out okay.

“This is pretty good”, Tokuchi said,looking over at her with a little half grin.

“I’m glad”, Itsuki said, meaning it.

They sat in silence for a while, listening to the sounds of the neighborhood. The cicadas were as loud as ever, and some kids had come outside to play a few houses down. Itsuki had drained her glass, and was thinking about pouring herself another when she heard Tokuchi clear her throat from beside her.

“So, what do you do?”, Tokuchi asked, not looking at her.

“I’m a software engineer”, Itsuki said, feeling a little giddy that Tokuchi asked. “It doesn’t sound too exciting, but it’s a lot of fun. What do you do?”, she asked, not wanting Tokuchi to know that she had already done some research on her.

“I’m a professional gambler”, Tokuchi responded, glancing over at her. “Mostly tournaments, but sometimes I’ll go to casinos for fun. But you probably already knew that, didn’t you?”, she asked coyly. 

“Uhhh”, was Itsuki’s intelligent response. 

“It’s fine”, Tokuchi said, turning her head away. “It’s natural to want to know more about the people who live near you”.

“Good point”, Itsuki said, still feeling a bit flustered after being called out. 

“I don’t think I’m going to get any more yard work done today”, Itsuki said suddenly. 

“I think I’m in the same boat, honestly”, Tokuchi said from beside her.

“Do you have any plans?”, Itsuki asked innocently. She honestly wouldn’t mind getting to Know Tokuchi better. From what she knew about her, she was pretty interesting.

“Not really”, Tokuchi said. “I can always look up statistics or rankings or whatever for one tournament or another, but I’m not sure if I have the motivation right now”, she said, looking over at Itsuki.

“Want to do something?”, Itsuki said. 

“Oh?”, Tokuchi asked, prompting her to go on.

“It’s like you said before, it’s only natural for you to want to know more about your neighbors”, she said as an explanation. 

“Sure”, Tokuchi finally responded. “What did you have in mind?”

“Well it’s about dinnertime, so we could do that”, Itsuki started. “We could go to a movie, we could go to that one outdoor shopping center, we could-”, she would have gone on, but Tokuchi cut her off.

“What’s your angle?”, she asked suddenly.

Itsuki paused for a moment. “Um, I’m trying to be friendly? As a friend?”

“Okay, gotcha”, Tokuchi responded with a smirk. Itsuki’s heart just about skipped a beat. “I’m always down to make new ‘friends’”. The way Tokuchi said friends sent a little shiver down her spine. 

“Before we do anything though”, Tokuchi began, setting her lemonade glass down, “I need to take a shower”. With that, she got up and started walking over to the fence.

“It looks like you need one too”, she said over her shoulder. “You’re perfectly free to join me”.

Itsuki’s mind came crashing to a halt. She froze for a second, watching Tokuchi hop the fence and saunter over to her back door. Suddenly, she felt her heart kick in with her nerves following not too far behind. She all but dropped her glass as she scrambled over to the fence after Tokuchi. 

“Fuck being friends”, she muttered to herself in disbelief, hopping the gate. Tokuchi must have heard, judging by the peal of laughter that rang out from inside the house.

Once inside, she rushed after Toa in what was probably the direction of her bathroom, stifling a giggle of disbelief. She was usually not nearly this impulsive. Tokuchi suddenly stopped, and slid a door open, revealing that she also had a western style bathroom. Unlike her however, she actually had a decent sized shower. Itsuki didn’t study the room too closely, as she saw Tokuchi had begun to undress out of her periphery. Itsuki glanced over at her, taking in her wiry frame and light skin, freckled from doing all that yard work. Tokuchi pulled her shirt and shorts off, leaving her in her underwear.

“You know”, Tokuchi began, startling Itsuki, “It’s traditional to undress before you bathe”.

Itsuki could feel herself flush in response. She yanked her shirt over her head, feeling the heat in her stomach rise when she saw that Tokuchi wasn’t looking away. She fumbled with the button on her jean shorts, struggling with it until Tokuchi knocked her hands away and replaced them with her own.

“I think”, Tokuchi drawled, “If you’re this tired from all that work, then maybe we shouldn’t go out after all”.

“I think you might be right”, Itsuki said, trying to keep her voice steady as Tokuchi undid her shorts, roughly pulling her underwear down with them to her thighs.

If Itsuki’s heart had been beating hard before, then it was a wonder how it wasn’t pounding out of her chest right then. Tokuchi all but slammed her up against the wall, and leaned in close, until her lips were brushing Itsuki’s ear. 

“What do you want me to do to you?”, she asked, voice slightly lower than before.

“Anything”, Itsuki bit out, feeling her knees go weak.

“Hmm”, Tokuchi responded before reaching behind her with one arm and unhooking her bra, yanking it off in one try.

Tokuchi pressed her body flush up against Itsuki’s, probably feeling how hard her heart was beating. Tokuchi looked her right in the eyes as she lightly traced a finger over Itsuki’s nether regions, prompting her to jerk a hand up to stifle her gasp. Tokuchi wasn’t having it though, as she grabbed her wrist and pinned it against the wall by Itsuki’s shoulder. This time, Itsuki moaned as Tokuchi pressed a bit harder, dragging her finger against her clit. Itsuki was becoming a complete and utter hopeless wreck and Tokuchi had barely even touched her. 

“You’re already so wet for it, aren’t you”, Tokuchi murmured against her ear, prompting another groan. She tried to pull her other hand up to cover her mouth, but Tokuchi grabbed that one too, pinning it as she had the first. 

Itsuki quickly regretted her decision when she felt the loss of pressure, but Tokuchi quickly replaced her hand by shoving her thigh right between Itsuki’s legs. Itsuki gasped, and began to grind on Tokuchi’s leg, foregoing all dignity. 

“Desperate”, Tokuchi murmured with a snicker, sending shivers down Itsuki’s spine.

“Just get on with it”, she bit out, pushing Tokuchi back.

Tokuchi’s eyes flashed with excitement when she took a few steps back from the force exerted on her. Itsuki ignored her for a moment while she pulled her shorts completely off, then approached Tokuchi slowly. Tokuchi, apparently anticipating her intentions, helped her pull her bra off over her head. When Itsuki started going for her underwear, Tokuchi lightly slapped her hands away. Itsuki looked up, trying to gauge whether Tokuchi was being playful or really telling her to stop. Judging be the half grin on her face, she settled on playful. 

She made another grab, but when Tokuchi went to retaliate again, Itsuki hooked her ankle behind Tokuchi’s foot and pulled, toppling them both. Tokuchi was dazed for all of half a second before she squinted at Itsuki, probably trying to figure out what was wrong with her. Unfortunately for Tokuchi, Itsuki took advantage of her hesitation, trying to yank her underwear down off her hips. She was startled however, when she heard the loud rip of fabric. She Tokuchi both froze, looking down at where Itsuki was holding the now tattered remains of Tokuchi’s underwear in her hand.

“Shit, sorry, I’ll replace them-”, Itsuki started, embarrassment welling up in her gut.

“It’s fine”, Tokuchi said, way too casually for someone who had just had their underwear torn off their body. “It was kind of hot, actually”.

“Yeah, it kind of was”, Itsuki said, snorting.

“This is a lot of fun and all, but I meant what I said about the shower earlier”.

Itsuki huffed a bit. Tokuchi was seriously going to get her all hot and bothered, only to stop the fun short. Tokuchi slipped out from under Itsuki and walked over to the showerhead. Itsuki watched her dumbly for a minute, enthralled by the way she swayed her hips when she walked. It wasn’t until after Tokuchi turned the shower on and began rinsing off that she acknowledged Itsuki again.

“You’re not going to get any cleaner just standing over there and gawking”, Tokuchi said, peering at her over her shoulder.

That was all the encouragement Itsuki needed. Without any hesitation, she moved closer, and pressed herself up to Tokuchi from behind, resting her hands on her hips. Tokuchi didn’t tense up or shake her off, so Itsuki figured she was in the clear. Slowly, she ran her hands up Tokuchi’s sides, taking time to admire the wiry muscle that flexed under her palms. Finally, she was cupping Tokuchi’s breasts in her hands, all but groping them. 

Tokuchi turned around then, making Itsuki pull back again, pulling her hands away.

“Hm”, Tokuchi murmured as she put her hands on Itsuki’s shoulders, spinning them around so Itsuki could have a turn under the majority of the spray.

“You’re still caked in dirt, you know”, Itsuki said weakly as Tokuchi cupped her boobs in her hands.

“You’re probably right”, Tokuchi said. “But I don't think your tits are going to wash themselves”.

“You know what? That's an excellent point”, Itsuki said, biting her lip as Tokuchi groped at her with her now soapy hands. 

“This is always a lot of fun”, Tokuchi commented, laughing as she played with Itsuki’s now very slippery breasts. 

“More fun than playing with your own?”, Itsuki asked, joining her in laughter. 

“It’s on par”, Tokuchi replied, running her thumbs over the red marks her bra had left. 

“Seriously, though”, let me get that off of you”, Itsuki said, switching their positions so that Tokuchi was under the spray facing away from her. She scrubbed her hands over her back, doing her best to wash most of the mud off. 

“Am I clean enough yet?”, Tokuchi asked as Itsuki finished. 

“Not quite”, Itsuki responded playfully. “I think you've still got some mud on you down here”, she said, trailing her hand south.

“I think you might be right”, Tokuchi said, pushing back against her. 

Itsuki took the encouragement to heart, and pushed the ball of her hand up against her, noting how Toa ground against her slightly. She pulled her hand away, and slid a finger between her lips, dragging her finger hard across Toa’s clit. Toa’s breathing quickened, so Itsuki figured she was doing the right thing. She kept up her ministrations until she felt Toa’s knees give out, sinking to the floor with her until Toa was leaning back against her, legs spread wide open, making little noises as Itsuki continued to get her off. Finally, Toa started jerking, clenching around her until she came to a rest, breathing hard. 

“Fuck”, she said breathlessly. 

“Pretty much”, Itsuki said, smiling. “I'd say you're clean now”.

“I'd have to agree with you there”, Tokuchi responded. “Your turn”, she said, rolling over to lie between Itsuki’s legs, water splashing down on her back. Itsuki felt a hot rush from her stomach to her groin, but she had other plans. 

“Not now”, Itsuki said, standing up. “Maybe next time”.

“Uh, what?”, Toa asked, sounding very confused. 

“There's a movie that I want to see at the drive in theatre, and I think it's playing tonight. We need to get going soon if we want to make it”.

“Are you serious?”, Toa asked, standing up to meet her. 

“Yeah”, Itsuki said, heading out to grab a towel. “It would be weird for me to go alone, so I've been waiting to go with somebody else. You said we could do something, so let's go”.

Toa gave her a strained look, but grabbed a towel and began to dry off. “Fine, but I owe you one”, she said. 

“I'll remember that”, Itsuki said, smiling. “Besides, it's supposed to be a really good movie”.

“Okay”, Toa said, tossing her towel aside. “As long as it's not one of those cheesy romance movies that have taken over the market, I'll be fine”.

“Well”, Itsuki began sheepishly, thinking about the harlequin romance book the movie was based off of and how close to cheesy it could be defined as.

“Oh god”, Toa said, sounding disgusted. “You're lucky you're cute”.

Itsuki had to smile at that. Her hot neighbor thought she was cute. Awesome. “I really am”, she said, following Tokuchi out of the bathroom. 

 

Later, as they drove away from the theatre in Toa’s bright yellow convertible, Itsuki chatted with Toa easily, telling her her thoughts on the movie and how well it was adapted. 

“We’ll have to do this again sometime”, Toa said, smiling over at Itsuki. 

“We will!”, Itsuki exclaimed. “I'm glad you liked it! I can loan you the book if you want”, she said, glad to have someone else who was interested in cheap romance novels. 

“Like the movie? Fuck no”, Toa said, sounding disgusted. “That was derivative as hell. I meant hang out”, she said. 

“Yeah”, Itsuki said, looking forward, feeling the wind in her hair. “We will”.


	2. Autumn

Itsuki pulled on her green cardigan and twirled in front of her mirror, enjoying the way her brown skirt flared out around her. She was only dressed somewhat inappropriately for her outing, but she looked so good that she could compromise her comfort for attention from Toa. It had been a few months since she and Toa had made their acquaintance, and ever since then they had hung out on occasion, usually doing activities that would be weird if it was only one person. They had gone to more drive in movies, went to the farmers market, went to a couple of special exhibitions, and had even gone to an onsen. 

Itsuki was especially excited for that day’s activity. They would be going to an apple orchard in a touristy little town a few hours away. They had originally planned on making it a day trip, but when Itsuki saw the adorable bed and breakfast in the town, she had forced Toa’s hand. Itsuki twirled in front of the mirror one last time before grabbing her overnight bag and purse before leaving to meet Toa. She walked over to Toa’s house, relishing the crisp fall air. When she arrived, Toa was already waiting for her. 

“I feel a little underdressed”, Toa said, looking her up and down. 

“Don't be crazy”, Itsuki said, sliding into Toa’s car. “You look great”. And she did. She was wearing a thin cable knit sweater, slim fit jeans, and ankle boots. She looked like she was ready to do some physical activity while still being stylish. Goddamn her and her good taste. 

After a few hours of music and brief conversations, Toa pulled into the parking lot of the bed and breakfast. It was even cuter than she had imagined. When they went inside to check in, she found herself taken with the quilts on the wall, the watercolor paintings of the town, and the puzzles scattered around on small tables. She could have looked around for much longer, but Toa snapped to get her attention. 

“We have reservations at the orchard soon”, she said, already halfway up the narrow staircase. “You can gawk later”.

“Yeah, yeah, fine”, Itsuki muttered as she followed Toa up the staircase. She knew Toa was humoring her a little with the whole trip, but she also knew that she was more excited than she let on. After tossing their bags on the (only!) bed in the room, they drove over to the orchard a few miles away. “Any tournaments coming up?”, Itsuki asked as they pulled up.

“Yeah, actually”, Toa said, getting out of the car. “I have the biggest one of the year coming up. It’ll be in Las Vegas. Exciting stuff”. 

“Sounds like it”, Itsuki said as they grabbed a couple of baskets from an attendant. “Is it the kind where everybody dresses up and has women hanging off them?”

“For some games, yeah”, Toa said. “Not really during the actual competition itself for the most part, but every time after that is fair game”.

“Sounds like fun”, Itsuki said, coming to a stop at a promising tree. She picked a few apples, but quickly realized that while the tree was burdened with the ripe fruit, the lower branches had been picked clean. She scowled at it and turned to go to a less promising, but shorter tree. 

“Hold up”, Toa said, catching her arm. “This one looks better”.

“Yeah, but I think we both know you have a bit of an advantage over me here”, Itsuki said, looking up at her. 

“Good point”, Toa said, walking behind her. 

“See what I mean- augh!”, she cried as Tokuchi wrapped her arms around her and lifted her up. 

“You have about a minute”, Toa said. “Then I'll probably drop you”.

“Thanks”, Itsuki but out before reaching out to grab as many juicy apples as she could. By the time Toa released her to the ground with a thump, Itsuki had gotten her basket three quarters of the way full. 

“Glad to help”, Toa said smugly. Damn her and her muscles. Itsuki could definitely appreciate them though, and not just for practical reasons. They spent another hour picking apples and walking around the orchard before they got tired and headed back to the bed and breakfast carting their bounty. Itsuki could tell Toa would have preferred to hang out there and engage in other activities, but she had a town to explore and shops to visit; Toa could wait. 

Itsuki first led them to a small antique shop. She didn't buy anything, but she did enjoy looking around and listening to Toa quietly make fun of some of the items. The small porcelain samurai statuette with the gaudy colors got the worst of it. His little eyes hadn't set well, giving him a googly-eyed appearance. 

“So, do you already have arm candy for the tournament?”, Itsuki asked as they browsed another antique shop that seemed to specialize in baskets. 

“Nope”, Toa said. “I usually don't”.

Itsuki fought the blush that threatened to rise to her face. “I could always go”, she said, keeping her voice even. “It sounds like a lot of fun to be honest. I have my passport and some vacation time saved up”.

Tokuchi glanced at her, then looked away sharply. “You're welcome to come, but I doubt you'd like to be arm candy. They usually dress pretty sexy, and I doubt you own a dress shorter than knee length”. If Itsuki didn't know any better, she'd say that Toa’s face was a little pinker than it had been. 

“That's alright with me”, Itsuki said, stifling a nervous giggle. “I can always buy one. Besides, you've seen me naked plenty of times”.

“Alright”, Toa said, pushing the door of the shop open. “I'll let you know the details”. They didn't talk about Itsuki’s offer for the rest of the day; focusing instead on more of the local shops, the bakery, and the small cafe for dinner. Afterwards, they took a walk, going in a lap around the small shopping center. 

“This was nice”, Itsuki said, brushing Toa’s hand with her own in a friendly manner. “It’s about 11. Wanna turn in?”

“Sounds good to me”, Toa said. It wasn’t a surprise to Itsuki. She had done all the heavy lifting that day, what with the apples, pumpkins, squashes, and quilts she had purchased. Once inside, Toa dropped their bags, letting Itsuki snuggle up behind her in the process. 

“Wanna mess around?” Itsuki asked, knowing Toa had been rearing to go earlier that day. 

“Pass”, Toa said. 

“Huh?”, Itsuki asked, taken aback. “Is it because you carried all the bags?”

“Nah”, Toa said. “Well, yes actually. My arms are tired, so you aren't getting anything out of me for now”.

Itsuki huffed, but backed off. “You know this means I get to cuddle you now, right?”, Itsuki asked playfully. 

“So be it”, Toa said, opening her suitcase to bring out her usual pajamas. Once they were both in bed, Itsuki snuggled up behind Toa, spooning her. She enjoyed being the big spoon because she really got a sense of the height difference between them. She also got to push her pelvis onto Toa’s ass and innocently lay a hand on her tit. Toa got to read or mess around on her phone. It was a win win. 

“This has been fun”, Itsuki said into Toa’s neck. 

“It has been”, Toa said drowsily. “Thanks for suggesting this”.

“I'm glad I did, too”, Itsuki murmured. 

“What a pal”, Toa replied softly before falling asleep.

 

One week later, Itsuki found herself in a conundrum. She had purchased everything she needed to go to Las Vegas with Toa, but she still didn't have the right clothes. She had tried going shopping on her own, but she kept getting distracted by the cardigans and sweaters on sale. In order to combat the situation, she had asked a friend from college to help her focus and pick out a dress.

“I still have no idea why you thought it was a good idea to ask me to help you with this”, Amami Taiyou asked. “I know absolutely nothing about sexy dresses. I can appreciate them, but I know nothing about them”.

“Which puts you in the exact same boat as me”, Takami said. “At least we can be useless bisexuals together here”.

“Maybe it would help if you looked somewhere other than the sale section of a business casual store?”, Amami asked, rolling his eyes. 

“I like this store”, Itsuki protested. “And the sale section is economical”.

“You have a good job and you hardly ever buy anything for yourself”, he said. “Just this once, try going into that one fancy dress shop”.

“That one scares me a little”, Itsuki said. “The salespeople look at you like you’re fresh meat”.

“Just don’t show fear”, Amami said, prying her away from the rack of clothes and out the door. “Let’s see if we can find something your girlfriend will like”.

“Friend”, Itsuki said a bit too sharply. 

“Okay”, Amami said slowly. “The friend you go out with, share meals with, go on vacations with, and sleep with”.

“Yup”, Itsuki said, not wanting to get into it. 

“Alright then”, he said. “Let’s see how useless we really are”.

The next Thursday, Itsuki packed her suitcase full, careful not to wrinkle her three new dresses. She laid her new shoes on top. One pair for each dress. She had thought it seemed excessive, but the sales lady had basically told her it was a requirement, and Amami was no help. Finally, she put in a little box filled with her new jewelry. 

Of course she had to have new jewelry according to the sales lady. That woman had really sunk her claws into her and she hadn’t let go. Finally, she put in a few other things she thought she might need for the trip with only a slight hint of a blush, and with that she was ready to go. She met Toa out by her car this time. Toa didn't want to leave her expensive car in an airport parking lot, but Itsuki couldn't stand the idea of paying for a cab when they could just take her car. 

Toa all but ignored her for the entire flight over, choosing instead to read over the statistics of other players, laugh to herself, markup the same papers, then rip them up. Toa’s pre gambling ritual was scary, but Itsuki could understand. She probably looked pretty crazy too when she was shouting her code in frustration to her little baseball hat wearing rubber duck in order to figure out what went wrong. They all had their quirks, so she wouldn’t begrudge Toa hers. 

Once they landed, they got in a shuttle and headed to a huge hotel on the strip. Itsuki marvelled at the fountains and replica landmarks, but Toa ferried her along into the lobby of the hotel/casino they would be staying at. “Isn't this place booked solid?”, Itsuki asked, looking around at all the people gathered. 

“Yeah, months ago”, Toa stated. “I have enough points that I got a pretty good room”.

“Awesome”, Itsuki said as they walked up to the check in counter. After they were given their shiny key cards, Toa got on the elevator and selected an upper floor button, swiping her card as she did so. 

“I couldn’t get anything too high up, but we have a good view”, she said, leaning up against the elevator wall. When the door dinged and opened, Itsuki followed Toa down a hall into a large room decorated in an art deco style with a sunken living room. Itsuki stood still, letting excitement overtake her as she gazed around the room. 

“This is so cool”, she said, rushing to see what the bedroom looked like. She ignored the second bedroom, following Toa into a large room with gold fittings, a huge tv, and an amazing view. 

“We can enjoy the view later. We need to go to the meet and greet”, Toa said. 

“I thought that was tomorrow morning”, Itsuki said, confused. 

“Yeah, for the losers”, Toa said, unpacking her suitcase. “VIPs meet tonight. The hotel pays for everything for us because our buy ins are so high”.

“What's the buy in?”, Itsuki asked, wondering if she was being rude. 

“Eight grand”, Toa said. “I'm not worried, though”.

“Shit”, Itsuki said. “Do you think you'll win?”

“I'll definitely win something to make it up: I always do”, Toa said, pulling on a black fitted blazer over a white button up that was unbuttoned a little too far down. “I'm not bragging”, she continued, pulling on a pair of tight pants. “It just usually works out that way”. With that, she put on a number of gold rings, a tiered gold necklace, a bracelet, and two gold stud earrings in each ear. “It’ll be pretty casual for me after this”, she said, nodding at Itsuki. “We dress down, our companions dress up”.

“Itsuki nodded, feeling a lot of nervousness in her stomach. She was really going to do this. It wasn't like she was flashing her boobs at everyone and screaming that she belonged to Toa, but she felt like it was in the same vein. Itsuki pushed her nerves away and pulled out her first outfit. It was a short blue strapless dress with an open back and a sleeveless lace overlay that came up to her neck. 

It was just sexy enough to show some flesh, but covered enough to make Itsuki feel more at ease. She donned the matching blue high heels that were the highest she had ever walked in at three inches. A pair of silver earrings and bracelet later, she was ready to go. Toa nodded at her appreciatively, then they headed downstairs to the VIP lounge for the cocktail party. She was quickly put at ease when she saw what the other women were wearing. 

She felt better about her dress thanks to all the sideboob available to see. She was careful not to ogle them in front of Toa, but she pitched that idea out the window when a leggy brunette caught both of their attention. Toa turned to her and winked, then walked over to a slightly overweight man in a blue striped button down and greeted him in a way that would have sounded amiable had it not been for her mocking tone. The games had begun. 

The rest of the cocktail party passed in a blur. People largely avoided Toa, and the ones that dared to approach them quickly found themselves shut down. Toa was obviously not popular, but then again, it was lonely at the top. It was a sacrifice Toa was obviously happy to make. Itsuki sipped at her beer for a while before setting it down. There really wasn’t much small talk to be had until a larger man with a couple of women hanging off him approached them.

“Some good stuff here eh, Toa?”, the man said in English. Thankfully Itsuki had kept her studies up and could understand him.

“It’s been some time, hasn’t it, Dave?”, Toa responded casually. Itsuki really didn’t like the tone the conversation was taking.

“Probably since that Texas hold em tournament you lost a couple of years back”, he said, holding the blonde woman on his left a little tighter.

“I don’t think you’re remembering it correctly”, Toa said. “I came in second place until you were discovered to be absolutely off your mind on cocaine and kicked off the podium”.

“I won after doing about a pound of cocaine, so that’s something”, he said shrugging, smiling at the titters of the women on either side of him.

“I suppose so”, Toa said. “But it takes a brave person to do one of these things sober. Hopefully you can keep it together this time. I wouldn’t want to have to go two years without seeing you again, after all”. Itsuki snickered at that, drawing the attention of one of the girls, who looked her up and down. 

“Which club did she find you in?”, she asked in a faux pleasant manner. “Let me guess, bartender?” 

The man guffawed and gave Toa a look of disdain. “Can't even find yourself a model, can you? I guess you would like the exotic ones”, he said.

“Software engineer, actually”, Itsuki responded. “I understand every word you’re saying, by the way”, she said, noting with pleasure the taken aback looks of the women. 

“If you’ll excuse us, we were talking about the programs controlling the statistical mechanisms within slot machines”, Toa said snottily, turning to walk away. Itsuki followed her, grabbing her by the arm and pulling her close. 

“I appreciate the sentiment there”, she began, “But that isn't at all how it works”.

“Like he would know”, Toa said flippantly. 

“Of course not, but I just felt it was necessary to let you know”, Itsuki said, blushing slightly at the catlike grin Toa shot her. She had gotten her riled up on purpose. 

The rest of the evening passed in a blur. There were no more confrontations involving Tokuchi, but there were plenty who sent them sharp looks. Apparently Tokuchi wasn't good at endearing herself to others in her profession. Occasionally, another person would speak with them, but only with cursory greetings or curious inquiries into who Itsuki was. She had suspected that Tokuchi was a loner at these things, and she was being proven right. 

After the reception, Toa led them back to their room where she started stripping the second they walked through the door. “I'm beat”, she said, walking to the bedroom as she left a trail of clothes behind her. Itsuki followed, feeling a rush of anticipation, only to be quashed when she saw Tokuchi putting on an old t shirt advertising a Texas hold em tournament a couple of years previous. “None for you tonight”, Tokuchi said. “Not after that flight”. Itsuki sighed in disappointment and put her pajamas on, fully intending to scoot as close as she could for some body heat; it was apparently all she was going to get. 

Toa woke up early the next day. Itsuki got out of bed right as Toa was putting her shoes on. Itsuki looked her up and down, taking in her t shirt, jeans, and sneakers. “I thought these things were classy”, Itsuki muttered. 

“Some can be, but usually not the big ones”, Toa responded. “I’ll be at it for a while today, so go mess around on the floor of the casino. You can watch from the restaurants or main areas on screen”, she said, standing up.

“Good luck”, Itsuki said, leaning against the door frame of their bedroom. 

“Don't need it, but thanks”, Toa said with a smirk as she went out the door. 

Itsuki spent her day messing around on the slot machines and watching performances in the casino’s entertainment arenas. It was fun, and she got to occasionally glance at the smattering of screens about the place to see the score. She hadn't seen Toa so far, but she didn't need to to know she was winning. Finally close to ten, the massive hoard of gamblers broke for the day and swarmed out onto the floor of the casino. Itsuki didn't have to look for Toa, she found her first. 

“Hey stranger”, Toa said playfully. “How was your day?” Itsuki could tell right then that Toa was doing well. She was doing really well. That would explain her good mood. 

“Doing well?”, she asked, keeping her tone light.

“Oh yeah”, Toa said. “I lost a couple of rounds there, but I got back up pretty fast”.

“Good to hear”, Itsuki said. “Have you eaten yet?”

“You know I haven’t”, Toa responded, steering her in the direction of the elevator. “Let’s go out. I wanna try one of those fancy pants restaurants we always see on the food channel”.

“Okay”, Itsuki said. “You get dressed while I make reservations somewhere”.

Toa smiled at her, then walked into their room with a bit of a swing to her hips. Winning definitely suited Toa. After Itsuki managed to get a reservation at a restaurant they saw featured on a special, she went to change into her second dress, a black one with a wide V-neck and gold embroidery around the hem going up the sides to circle the low neckline. Toa came out wearing another blazer with a shell, trousers, and gold jewelry. Typical.

“Let’s go”, she said, holding her arm out like a Regency gentleman. Toa took it delicately with a snicker, and they were off. The restaurant they went to seated them with a large group of what looked like couples for the evening’s entertainment and meal. The chef prepared their meals for them at the table as they made conversation amongst themselves. Toa and Itsuki were seated between two German couples who admired her dress and Toa’s bracelets. 

It turned out that she had won those in two seperate poker world series- one of the youngest alive to have done so. It made Itsuki feel warm knowing that both she and Toa were so accomplished, sitting there together. She let herself eat and drink way too much until she was nearly bursting out of her dress and stumbling as they made their way back to the casino they were staying at. Toa patiently guided her, making quiet comments about those around them to make her burst out laughing. Had she been sober, Itsuki would have been mortified; thankfully, the restaurant had good wine so she didn’t have to worry about that until morning.

Once inside their room, Itsuki fumbled at her zipper until Toa brushed her hands away and pulled it down in one smooth motion. Itsuki turned around to face her and let it fall, pooling around her feet as she bared her body. Toa looked her up and down before giving her a crooked smile and taking her into her arms, kissing her as she did so. Itsuki giggled into the kiss, wrapping her arms around Toa’s waist so she could grope at her ass. Toa allowed it for a minute before she pulled back, resting her forehead against Itsuki’s.

“You taste like wine”, she said softly, looking her in the eyes.

“I bet I do”, Itsuki said, planting a quick kiss on Toa’s lips. “What about it?”

“Let’s hold off tonight”, Toa said, pulling back. “I have to be up bright and early tomorrow morning. Can’t have me getting drunk off of you tonight”. Itsuki groaned, then kicked her shoes off and wandered off into the bathroom in just her underwear. When she emerged, Toa was already showered and in bed. Itsuki slipped between the covers to nestle up to her, not bothering to put her pajamas on. Toa didn’t seem to mind at all judging by the satisfied noise she made at the skin to skin contact.

The next day went the same as the previous one. Toa spent the whole day at the poker tables, shooting up in the rankings. Itsuki visited the buffet, then learned how to play craps, roulette, and blackjack, eventually winning some money herself. After dark, Toa came waltzing out of the tournament room practically glowing. She was doing very well for herself- poised to be a favorite to win the tournament.

As it was the last night before the final day of the tournament, there was another reception-for everybody this time. Although had a more formal dress code than the first reception, it had a more casual air what with the easy conversation and the more diverse group. Itsuki wore her final dress- a low cut wine red number that fell to the floor with a long slit running up to her mid thigh. She had gotten many compliments on it from other women attending, some of them companions, some of them gamblers. She wondered what Toa would look like in a dress as she realized that she had never worn one in Itsuki’s presence.

They chatted with some lower ranked gamblers, but they seemed to be more fun than the ones at the VIP reception. Itsuki casually chatted with a couple about algorithms and statistics, and how it could affect the future of online gambling where hackers were concerned. Toa stood and listened quietly for those conversations, her eyes never leaving Itsuki. Itsuki didn’t drink anything that night, wary of alcohol’s effects on her, and how her mornings could quickly be ruined by a few too many glasses of wine.

When the reception was over, Itsuki led Toa by the hand to their room where she pushed her up against the wall and kissed her soundly. Toa returned her kiss with enthusiasm, unzipping her dress and unhooking her bra in one smooth motion while leading her to the bedroom.

“You were amazing out there today”, they both said at once. Toa laughed and Itsuki rolled her eyes. She pushed Toa over onto the bed, helped her out of her clothes, and showed her how true that statement was. 

 

Toa won the tournament the next day. When she finished with her duties and interviews, she came to Itsuki, positively glowing. They made good use of the hotel room one last time before leaving to catch the airplane home. Itsuki passed through the flight is a daze, not registering the movie or the food placed in front of her until Toa broke her out of it with a kiss. 

“I tried getting your attention before”, she said, smiling. “But you didn’t react”.

“You got a reaction there”, Itsuki said, blushing.

“I noticed”, Toa said.

“We need to hang out again soon”, Itsuki said. “This was fun”.

“Yeah”, Toa said, opening her window a bit to let some light in. “It was”.


End file.
